Tim Townsend Slick Inker Extraordinaire Interview by Karl!

Here's an interview with Tim Townsend,
inker of Uncanny X-Men.
He's one of the best there is. At 29, he's inked many great artists and done a great job on all of them.

Q: Why comics, Tim?

Tim Townsend: Why not, beats pumping gas! Seriously though, you could ask Michael Jordan why basketball or Bill Gates why computers? I think everyone has some sort of passion hidden within them. The lucky ones are able to discover that passion and tap into it. Im one of the lucky ones.

Q: How would you define the inkers' job?

Tim Townsend: We're the drywallers, plumbers, roofers, electricians, and carpeters of the comic industry. The writer is like the architect. They draw up the plans and lay the groundwork of what is to be built. The penciler comes in like a carpenter, lays the foundation and puts up the scaffolding to varrying degrees (depending on the penciler). Then comes the inker. We come in, lay the wires, affix the plumbing, put up the drywall, and throw on a roof and maybe a lil' carpet. The colorist comes in a paints the place, while the letters come in put the sold sign in the front yard, throw your address on the curb and a welcome mat on the doorstep. The editors just sat around and point the whole time. (grin)

Q: Some people write inkers off as simply 'tracers', not adding much to the final product. What's your response to that?

Tim Townsend: Depends on the inker in question. If the comment was made as a generalization I'd say "Learn what the hell youre talking about."

Q: You started out as a penciller, but you are currently an inker. Why didn't you continue to pencil?

Tim Townsend: Thats just the way the dice fell. Inking was my definative "in" to the industry. Once I began to make a name for myself as an inker I decided to stick with it and see where I could take it...or where it could take me. So far so good. I'll continue to ink as long as I feel I continue to grow as an artist. When and if I begin to lose my passion for inking maybe I'll start to focus more on my pencils.

Q: What's the pros and cons being an inker instead of penciller, from a creative POV?

Tim Townsend: Hmm...creatively? The pros.....nobody knows what the hell you do so, if a book looks awful they blame the penciler. The cons....nobody knows what the hell you do so if a book looks good the penciler gets the glory. With the pencils goes the glory but also the responsibility...as far as the fans are concerned that is.

Q: Doesn't that bug you? I know I'd hate if I was doing something great and put in a lot of work in it, and nobody noticed it.

Tim Townsend: Ah, but people do notice, at least the pro' people do. Which brings us back to my answer in regards to who I try to impress.

Q: Currently, do you think it's easier getting inking gigs than pencilling gigs for people breaking in?

Tim Townsend: I dont really think there's much of a difference. Since the industry has shrunken so severely over the last few years, theres a surplus of seasoned pros' and a deficit of jobs. Its harder to break in these days because it's these seasoned pros' that the new guys have to contend with.

Q: Can an inker ink any art-style?

Tim Townsend: Depends on the inker.

Q: I heard inkers can be devided into two groups, brush inkers and nib inkers. Is that correct?

Tim Townsend: Those are the two primary tools. I'd like to think that a good inker could ink with a tree branch if they had to though.

Q: What happens if the penciller has missed drawing in an important detail or have been very sketchy while drawing? Is it up to you to draw that in then?

Tim Townsend: The finished product is always up to the inker. Every line you see in that comic is layed down by the inker. The inker has to decide how it should look, make that final call. There are pencilers who think that the inker should basically just trace what they've layed down. In some cases, Travis Charest for instance, this is probably true. For the most part though, in my humble opinion, I believe that the inker is responsible for the latter 50% of the art on that page. That page should be all the better for having had the inker finish it. If not then we might as well embrace that computer inking garbage.On a technical level, I like to think that theres two schools of thought. There are inkers and then there are embelleshers. The inker basically traces whats on the page. The embellesher finishes the page, makes it better, embelleshes on it. Some pencilers will argue this to the grave but others are able to put their faith in their inker and embrace what that "embellesher" brings to the table. That's where we get our super teams over the years. These are pros' who have managed a marriage of talent and who trust each other implicitly. They share a common vision and translate it onto a page. These kinds of teams are rare though. I think ego has alot to do with it quite frankly. The penciler should be able to swallow enough pride to let the inker do their job while, at the same time, the inker should respect the penciler and his/her work enough to know when to push but, more importantly, when to pull; to work "within" the pencils instead of "over" them. The same goes for the colorist and, if you want to delve deeper, with the writer.

Q: How do you embellish pencils in general, then? What can an inker do when he's facing pretty tight pencils, not leaving much for interpretation?

Tim Townsend: There are very few pencilers out there who dont need, or at least could not use, a little embelleshing (by the proper inker of course). In the case of guys like Tavis Charest though, its all there. Im mean its ALL there. This guy's vision is so far out there that to alter his course even a little, I think, would probably do him an injustice. In the case of this, the embellesher SHOULD become a tracer...again, IMHO.

Q: Also, I think it's safe to say that you and Joe Madureira were one of those super-teams. How was it like working with him?

Tim Townsend: I could not be more thrilled with the fact that my name has become associated with Joe's in regards to a team. Artistically, working with Joe was a dream-come-true. I think its rare that two individuals can come together and share such similar visions artistically and are able to translate them into the work. I had total trust in Joe's vision and he mine. They say you never forget your first. Joe was my first. 8) On the personal side of things, Joe is a good friend. We became very close over those years. I consider him to be one of my closest friends. I think this had alot to do with our art and why it came together so well.

Q: Why didn't you follow Joe when he left to do Battle Chasers? I know alot of people wanted that.

Tim Townsend: As did I. That was a really tough decision. Joe offered it to me and I thought about it very seriously. I think it came down to two things. First and foremost, on my end, it was financial. Being on the #1 [Uncanny X-Men] book affords a certain luxury. I'm very aware of what its like outside of this little niche' I've carved for myself. As an inker, I'm much more limited as to big money options. Joe would be getting the fat contracts but, as an inker, I'd be more on the hired help end of the equation. I just decided that, at this point in time, I'd be foolish to step away from where I'm at. I've put alot of time, love and effort into Uncanny and, I suppose I just wasn't ready to give it all up...financially and personally. The other factor is that I think both Joe and I were ready for a change of pace. We both still loved working with each other. It was not that at all. It's just that, after almost 4 years of working together, I kinda' felt like stretching a bit and trying something different...not better, just different. I'm pretty sure Joe felt the same way. After that long, its...fun for someone to see someone elses interpretations of his/her work. In a nutshell, there was no bad blood, no parting of ways...nothing so melodramatic. Joe and I are still tight (although we're both awful at staying in touch) and I do hope to work with him again down the road. We said along time ago that we'd end up working together again and I still believe it.

Q: Is there a type of artstyle you prefer inking?

Tim Townsend: Stylewise, I guess I'm considered a "slick" inker. I tend to shine over guys like Joe Maduriera or Jim Lee as opposed to the rougher styles of guys like JrJr or Ron Garney. That bothers me actually. I'd like to have more time to experiment a little and add a few more tricks to my quasi-arsenal. 8)

Q: Why not the rougher styles? Is it a style thing?

Tim Townsend: It's all about interpretation. Artistically, I don't think along the lines of "rough" or "spontaneous". I'm more slow and controlled...an insight to my personality I suppose. 8) In all seriousness though, I think it does have alot to do with ones personality. I think personalities shine through in ones art. Style thing, personality thing, whatever you want to call it. I think it just boils down to interpretation.

Q: Which artists that you haven't inked would you like to ink?

Tim Townsend: Hmm....thats a long list. Im certain Ill forget some but, off the top of my head, John Byrne, Art Adams, Travis Charest, Adam Hughes, Jason Pearson, George Perez, Whilce Portacio, Marc Silvestri, Dale Keown, Michael Golden, Alan Davis, Joe Quesada......uhg....theres more but thats a pretty ambitious list.

Q: You are supposed to ink Perez soon, for the BOOK handbook from Dreamsmith studios, right?

Tim Townsend: YUP! Cant wait!!

Q: Cloning is a common thing in comic art. What do you think is worse, cloning a style or swiping actual drawings?

Tim Townsend: They're both pretty pathetic in my opinion. I think its just another form of plagiarism. I mean, everyone has their influences and yes, many peoples work, when they start out, ends up resembling the work of their influences. Thats a bit different than setting out to intentionally mimic someone elses work. The "swiping drawings" part is about as low as one can go. (Side note: Theres a definative difference between "swiping" and deliberately "tributing" or "parodying" something.) I'll argue that a chimp could probably be trained to do it given a lightbox and a few bananas. (smirk) These people have no business in this business, again, in my opinion. Unfortunately, it seems that people like these have been rewarded instead of ignored, catered to for the sake of making a last minute deadline. Of course it does not take someone as long to do a book when all the works already been done for them! (grin)

Q: Does cloning exist amongst inkers, too?

Tim Townsend: Sure, I suppose. I guess its just a little more subtle, less obvious if-you-will. I don't think there's as much of a need for it in inking though. I don't know, that's a tough one to articulate. Techniques and tricks are often borrowed but, in the end, I think other stuff creeps in. I can't really think of any inkers that flat out "swipe".

Q: Let's pretend a little. If comics would cease to exist, do you have anything to fall back on, if you still would like to have a job with an artistic angle. What options have you got?

Tim Townsend: The arena of commercial art is vast. There's so much that can be tapped into. I may eventually go off in that direction on my own and just do comics for fun some day. Comics just for fun....ahhh.....dare to dream.

Q: So you aren't enjoying inking comics as much as you feel you could? Is it the deadlines?

Tim Townsend: It's always the deadlines. I think that every artist would like to be able to put as much time as they see fit into their work. Its tough to have to cut corners for the sake of deadlines. Thats the nature of the beast though. I'm not complaining though. That would be like going to the beach and complaining about the heat.

Q: Let's pretend a little more. You win ten million dollars on the lottery, would you continue to ink or would you do anything else?

Tim Townsend: I'd absolutely continue to ink....and pencil too. I could afford to work on labors of love....put out a book a year if I wanted to. Would I maintain a monthly deadline? No way in Hell!

Q: Can you manage your deadline on X-Men by inking a page a day?

Q: Ok, who's the best penciller and best inker currently active?

Tim Townsend: In my opinion, penciler would be Travis (aint it too cool to be known well enough to just go by your first name?) and the inker would be Alex Garner.

Q: Would Travis and Garner mesh well?

Tim Townsend: I think Alex's talent would be wasted on Travis. That's a compliment to both of them. Travis, as I stated earlier, is all there and better left to someone who will just follow what's there. Alex is so talented though. He has his own vision of what things should look like. You can tell when someone else inks Jeff (Campbell). I've inked Jeff several times and am always surprised at how different the work looks (different, no less brilliant though) in pencil form. Alex really is a part of the final product. There's damn near as much of him in there as there is Jeff. Thats another perfect marriage of talent I believe.

Q: Finally, any general advice for aspiring inkers?

Tim Townsend: Don't quit your day jobs. (smirk) Seriously though, work and perseverance. Learn to draw first.....go to school, don't do drugs....and drink your Ovaltine! (smirk) (well...almost seriously)

Karl and Harrison would like to thank Tim for this interview. You're a gem, Tim! (Good luck with your Beanie Babies collection!)

~FIN~